By: Chelsea DeCesare
History
The story of NBCUniversal goes back more than a century and involves the dreams of two visionary entrepreneurs, David Sarnoff, who founded NBC, and Carl Laemmle, who created Universal.
NBCUniversal was formed in 2004 when NBC and Universal merged to create a media powerhouse co-owned by General Electric and Vivendi. With the company’s acquisition by Comcast in 2009, a third visionary entrepreneur, Ralph J. Roberts, joined the sides of Sarnoff and Laemmle as a key figure in the annals of the company. Roberts started Comcast in 1963, after he bought a tiny cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi, setting in motion a remarkable American business success story.
All three companies were founded by men of modest backgrounds who were propelled by their visions of a new industry—movies, television, and cable distribution—and enthusiastic about the possibilities they represented for economic growth for the betterment of the community and people around them. Laemmle, Sarnoff, and Roberts dedicated themselves to turning their visions into the reality that represents Comcast and NBCUniversal in the present day.
David Sarnoff was a radio visionary who through his work with RCA helped to make NBCUniversal into what it is today. In 1916, Sarnoff was a young Russian immigrant living in New York City. One day, he wrote a memo to his manager at the American Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. in New York City. In his “Radio Music Box” memo, Sarnoff imagined a world connected by wireless communication that would bring information and entertainment into the home. This audacious vision would become reality in 1926 with the first broadcast of the National Broadcasting Company.
Through the remainder of the twentieth century, these two companies, Universal Studios and NBC, would create extraordinary legacies of accomplishment in the exciting new worlds of motion picture production and distribution, location-based entertainment, and radio and television production and broadcasting.
On May 12, 2004, the parallel histories of the two companies converged, in the creation of a powerful new media entity, NBCUniversal. [1]
Parent Company
In December of 2009, the largest cable operator in the U.S, Comcast, announced an agreement to acquire NBCUniversal from General Electric.
The deal valued NBCUniversal at around $30 billion, and has Comcast owning 51 percent and General Electric owning 49 percent of the NBCUniversal corporation. Comcast will contribute its own offering of cable channels, worth about $7.25 billion, and will pay General Electric about $6.5 billion in cash, for a total of $13.75 billion.
On January 18, 2011, the FCC and the United States Department of Justice officially approved the merger. [2]
Company Leaders
Stephen B. Burke Chief Executive Officer, NBCUniversal
Steve Burke oversees the company’s valuable portfolio of news, sports, and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks.
Burke assumed this role in January 2011, upon the closing of Comcast and General Electric’s joint venture merging the assets of NBC Universal with Comcast’s programming assets.
He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Comcast Corporation, where he was a driving force in its growth from a cable industry leader to one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. [3]
Matt Bond, Executive Vice President, Content Distribution, NBCUniversal
Bond is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of the company’s content portfolio, and managing the distribution relationships for NBCUniversal cable channels, owned-and-operated televisions stations, and other licensing responsibilities.
Prior to this, Matt held the position of Executive Vice President of Content Acquisition for Comcast, overseeing the company’s content acquisition efforts including the negotiation of programming agreements for cable systems serving more than 24 million customers. Bond also led content acquisition for new media rights and strategic multiplatform initiatives, including On Demand Online. [4]
Patricia Fili-Krushel,Chairman, NBCUniversal News Group, NBCUniversal
Patricia Fili-Krushel serves as Chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, the most influential and respected portfolio of on-air and digital news properties in the world, reaching more than 120M viewers each month. She reports directly to Steve Burke, CEO of NBC Universal.
The News Group includes such assets as NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and the Weather Channel as well as digital platforms including NBC News Digital, MSNBC.com and CNBC.com.
Previously, Ms. Fili-Krushel was Executive Vice President of NBC Universal with a broad portfolio of functions reporting to her, including Operations and Technical Services, Business Strategy, Human Resources and Legal. [5]
Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment
Robert Greenblatt joined NBC Universal in January 2011 as Chairman, NBC Entertainment and reports to Steve Burke. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of prime time and late night programming, business affairs, West Coast research, marketing, public relations and scheduling for NBC and also oversees Universal Media Studios. [6]
Subsidiaries
Universal Pictures
- Focus Features
- Working Title Films
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment
- Universal Animation Studios
- Illumination Entertainment [7]
- Syfy
- Bravo
- Chiller
- Cloo
- CNBC
- MSNBC
- Style
- Oxygen
- NBC Sports Network
- Golf Channel
- E!
- G4
- USA Network
- Universal HD
- Universal Cable Productions [8]
Cable Network |
Approximate U.S. (in millions) (a) |
Description of Programming | ||||
USA Network | 99 | General entertainment | ||||
Syfy | 98 | Imagination-based entertainment | ||||
E! | 98 | Entertainment and pop culture | ||||
CNBC | 97 | Business and financial news | ||||
MSNBC | 95 | 24 hour news | ||||
Bravo | 95 | Entertainment, culture and arts | ||||
Golf Channel | 85 | Golf competition and golf entertainment | ||||
Oxygen | 78 | Women’s interests | ||||
NBC Sports Network (formerly VERSUS) | 76 | Sports | ||||
Style | 76 | Lifestyle | ||||
G4 | 61 | Gamer lifestyle | ||||
Chiller | 42 | Horror and suspense | ||||
CNBC World | 40 | Global financial news | ||||
Cloo (formerly Sleuth) | 39 | Crime, mystery and suspense | ||||
Universal HD | 25 | HD, general entertainment programming |
NBC Sports Group
- Comcast Sports Group
- Golf Channel
- NBC Sports
- NBC Sports Digital Network [10]
Entertainment and Digital Networks and Integrated Media
- Bravo Media
- Oxygen Media
- Style Media
- Telemundo
- mun2
- PBS Kids Sprout
- TVOne [11]
NBC Universal News Group
- NBC News
- CNBC
- MSNBC
- The Weather Channel [12]
Local Television News Stations
DMA Served (a) | Station | General Market Rank (b) | Percentage of U.S. Television Households (d) |
|||||||
New York, NY | WNBC | 1 | 7 | % | ||||||
Los Angeles, CA | KNBC | 2 | 5 | % | ||||||
Chicago, IL | WMAQ | 3 | 3 | % | ||||||
Philadelphia, PA | WCAU | 4 | 3 | % | ||||||
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | KXAS (c) | 5 | 2 | % | ||||||
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA | KNTV | 6 | 2 | % | ||||||
Washington, D.C. | WRC | 8 | 2 | % | ||||||
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | WTVJ | 16 | 1 | % | ||||||
San Diego, CA | KNSD (c) | 28 | 1 | % | ||||||
Hartford, CT | WVIT | 30 | 1 | % |
Parks and Resorts
- Universal Orlando Resort
- Universal Studios Hollywood
- Universal Studios Japan
- Universal Studios Singapore [14]
Digital Media
2013 Programming
2013 Winter/Spring Series Premieres:
— New Drama “Deception” January 7
— New Comedy “1600 Penn” January 10
— New Relationship Series “Ready for Love” March 31
Anticipated Returns:
–“The Voice” March 25/26
–“Revolution” March 25
–“The Biggest Loser” January 6/7
–“Smash” February 5
–“Community” February 7
–“The Celebrity Apprentice” March 3
–“Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” January 8 [16]
Sources:
1.) NBC Universal History http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/about-us/history/
2.) Atlantic Magazine, “Comcast Buys GE Stake in NBCUniversal, Completing the ’30 Rock’ Prophecy.” http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/02/comcast-buys-ge-stake-nbcuniversal-completing-30-rock-prophecy/62069/
3.) NBC Universal Senior Corporate Executives: Stephen B. Burke http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/management/senior-corporate-executives/nbc-universal/stephen-b-burke/
4.) NBC Universal Senior Corporate Executives: Matt Bond http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/management/senior-corporate-executives/nbc-universal/matt-bond/
5.) NBC Universal Senior Corporate Executives: Patricia Fili-Krushel http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/management/senior-corporate-executives/nbc-universal/patricia-fili-krushel/
6.) NBC Universal Senior Corporate Executives: Robert Greenblatt http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/management/senior-corporate-executives/nbc-entertainment/robert-greenblatt/
7.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast Corporation http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
8.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast Corporationhttp://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
9.) NBC Universal Annual Shareholder’s Report http://apps.shareholder.com/sec/viewerContent.aspx?companyid=cmcsa&docid=8430852
10.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast Corporation http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
11.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast Corporation http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
12.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast Corporation http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
13.) NBC Universal Annual Shareholder’s Report http://apps.shareholder.com/sec/viewerContent.aspx?companyid=cmcsa&docid=8430852
14.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
15.) Columbia Journalism Review: Who Owns What, Comcast http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast
16.) NBC Reveals Changes for Mid-Season 2013 http://www.nbc.com/news/2012/10/30/nbc-reveals-changes-for-mid-season-2013/